Antifriction bearing



Dec. 3, 1929. .1. F. o'coNNoR ANTIFRICTION BEARING Filed April 5, 1924 fgz Patented Dec. 3, 1929 UNITED STATE-s PATENT OFFICE JOHN F. OCONNOR, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIG-NOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO W. H. MINER, INC., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE ANTIFRICTION BEARING Application led April 3, 1924. Serial No. 703,902.

This invention relates to improvements in anti-friction bearings.

One object of the invention is to provide a simple, practical and relatively inexpensive roller bearing especially adapted for use as a railway car side bearing and wherein the parts are so arranged that the anti-friction element proper is automatically returned to its normal central position under the influence of gravity when free from load.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described that is self-contained, all the parts of which are maintained in permanently assembled relation and which is adapted to be applied as a unit to a bolster of a railway car.

Another object of my invention is to provide, in a bearing of the kind described, an anti-friction roller acting in cooperation with a pair of rockers, said parts being so arranged that the roller will transmit the full load direct to the bearing plate for a predetermined part of its travel from central position and, thereafter the rockers will elevate said roller so that the load is thence transmitted through the roller and rocker in series, the continued travel of said roller and rockers terminating at the extreme position, in which position the roller is free to rotate under continued and excessive travel of the cooperating bolster, said rockers serving to center the roller after the load is released.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken through the ends of the body and truck holsters of a railway car, showing my improvements in connection therewith. And Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view corresponding substantially to the line 2-2 of In said drawing, 10 denotes the upper side of a truck bolster and 11 the under side of the corresponding opposed body bolster. The improved side bearing is shown as applied to the truck bolster and compri-ses broadly, a base casting, retaining member or `housing A; an anti-friction element proper -oifset at 14, these offset portions 14 themselves having lateral offset portions 15. The end walls 16 of the housing are curved substantially to the shape of the anti-friction element adapted to be arranged within the housing. plate 12 is arranged in the bottom of the housing to serve as a bearing plate for the load receiving elements. The offset portions 14 of theside walls form guideways for a purpose to be hereinafter described, said guideways each having vertical sidewalls 18 connected at their upper ends by a horiaontally extending top wall 19. The auxiliary offset portions 15 also form guideways, each of said guideways extending upwardly from the bottom ofthe casing and having parallel vertical side walls 20 connected at their upper ends by a rounded or arcuate wall 21. Y The sidewalls of the housing are provided with openings 22 at their lower ends to facilitate the removal of dirt, cinders or other foreign matter from vthe housing. Rivets 23 may be used for securing the housing to the wear plate 12, the wear plate 12 being in turn secured to the bolster 1() by means of rivets 24.

The anti-friction element proper B is in the form of a true cylinder adapted to roll back and forth to either side of central position on the bearing plate 12, the plate 12 being wider than said roller. This roller is provided with an' axial opening therethrough to receive a pin having its ends 25 projecting beyond the ends of the'roller, these projecting ends extending into the guideways 14 to closely adjacent the outer walls of said guideways.

The counterweights C-C are of like construction and are 'arranged at the opposite ends of the anti-friction element proper. Each of the counterweights or rockers is in theform of a relatively heavy plate having an arcuate lower bearing surface 26 and a hub portion 27 at its upper end. Through the` hub portion 27 thereis a bore 28, the diameter of said bore being slightly larger than the diameter of the projecting ends 25 of the pin, and adapted to receive said ends, so that when the anti-friction element is shifted to and fro on the bearing surface 12, the rockers carried by said pin will be rocked or tilted on the bearing plate 12, thereby. The rockers C have their arcuate bearing surfaces 2G adapted to bear on the top of the wear plate 12, this wear plate being sufficiently wide to permit this arrangement. Laterally extending projections 29 are provided. on each of the cotinterweiglits C at their lower ends, these projections being a, adapted to move substantially in a vertical path in the guideways 15 as the counterweights are rocked. The major portion of the periphery of'each of the projections 29 is of a size to fit within the side walls 2O of the guideways 15 with but such limited amount lof lateral play therebetween as is required to conform to manufacturing practice. It will be noted that these projections extend `partially below and partially above Q the lower bearing surfaces of the rocker section proper.

The radius of the lower arcuate bearing edges of each rocker is greater thanthe radius of the roller and is eccentric thereto so that when the rocker is in central normal position, the center of said lower bearing surfacewill just engage with or perhaps be slightly above the bearing plate 12j. At this point it may be mentioned that the apertures 28 are bored to a size slightly larger than the diameter of the pin so that when the rockers are in their normal central position, there will be a clearance between the bottom of the pin and the bottom of the apertures 28, as shown in the drawing, these apertures prefer-ably being eccentric to the pin, in normal position.

The operation of the device is as follows,`

assuming that the roller is moving to the right toward its dotted line position shown in Fi gure 1. During the first portion of travel the roller rolls along the bottom bearing surface of the housing for a predetermined distance, transmitting the Vfull loa d directly to the bearing plate until the pin extensions 25 engage the bottoms of the Vpin receiving apertures ofthe rockers, after which the rockers act to lift the roller above the bearing plate a slight distance, said rockers rocking until their hubs 2T abut against the vertical side walls 18 of the guideways 14C. After the roller is lifted it may revolve on its journals to thus permit unlimited travel.

The rockers are in a position of unstable equilibrium at their extreme position so that i when the yload is released,these rockers will tend to returnthe roller toits normal central position. It will be noted that the projecting portions 29 of the rockers may move freely and without binding Within their guideways,

E; the contours of these projections and their tio'n to the railway car.

I have herein shown and described what I new consider the preferred manner of carrying out my invention but the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modifications' that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In an anti-friction bearing, the combination with a housing adapted to be mounted on a bolster or the like and having an interior bearing surface; of a roller arranged within said housing to roll tov and fro on said bearing surface; rochers carried at. the ends of said roller and adapted to rock on said bearing surface, said rockers having lower arcuate bearing surfaces whose radius is greater than the radius of said roller and eccentric thereto; a pin extending through the` roller and projecting from both ends thereof, said rockers provided with bores therethrough at their upper ends to loosely receive the projecting ends ofrsaid pin, the upper sides of said projecting portions of the pin engaging against the upper portions of the bores through said rockers when said rockers and roller are in normal central position g and means for preventing bodily movement of said rockers longitudinally of said bearing surface, said housing having stop means to limit the rocking movement of said rockers, whereby when said roller rolls a predetermined distance under load, the rockers will be rocked thereby to lift said roller bodily off said bearing surface and move therewith and be carried thereby until said rockers abut against said stops, after which the roller will revolve about a fixed axis for continued load, said rockers returning said rollers to central position after the loadis released therefrom.

2. In an anti-friction bearing, the combination with a'retainer having a bearing surface; of an anti-friction element adapted normally `to have rolling engagement with said bearing surface; and rockers in which said anti-friction element is ournaled, said rockers having bearing surfaces eccentric to Vthe journal of said element, said bearing surfaces engaging said bearing surfaces ofthe retainer thereby supporting said :element for .rotation upon movement beyond predetermined limits to either side-of central position.

3. In an anti-friction bearing, the combination With a bearing surface; of a roller arranged to roll on said bearing surface; selfcentering rocking means adapted to rock to and fro on said bearingfsurface in certain positions of the parts; axial projections on said roller, said rocking means having lower arcuate bearing portions of a radius greater than the radius of said roller and eccentric thereto and being provided with apertures spaced from the bearing portions of said rocking means to receive the axial projections on said roller, the bearing portions of said rocking means being free of load with respect to said roller and said bearing surface When in central position and adapted to come into contact with said bearing surface when moved to either side of central position to lift said roller from said bearing surface and support the same for rotation, and means for supporting said rocking means to limit rocking movement thereof.

4. In an anti-friction bearing` for railway cars having opposed bearing surfaces on the body and truck bolsters, the combination with rocking means adapted to bear upon one of said bearing surfaces; of an anti-friction roller journaled on said rocking means and having rolling engagement With said last named bearing surface, said rocking means having a bearing face engaging said last named bearing surface, a portion of said bear ing` face of the rocker being spaced a distance from the axis of the roller greater than the spacing of the curved bearing surface of the roller and said axis, whereby the roller in centered position transmits the load directly to said last named bearing surface and, upon movement of the roller and rocking means to one side of centered position, the roller is supported free of said last named bearing surface for rotation about its axis upon said rocking means.

5. In an anti-friction bearing, the combination With a support having a flat bearing surface; of an anti-friction element provided with a curved bearing surface having rolling` contact With said fiat bearing surface; means for rotatably supporting said anti-friction element on its axis, including a rocking lever element having a fulcrum portion bearing on said flat bearing surface, said fulcrum portion being movable on said flat bearing surface and having a portion thereof spaced a distance from said axis greater than the spacing of the curved bearing surface of the roller and said axis to effect lifting of the anti-friction element from said flat bearing surface when the anti-friction element is moved to either side of its centered position.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 1st day of April, 1924.

JOI-IN F. OCONNOR. 

